Young Love
by Whisperwill
Summary: High-school-age Zeb and Esther are meant for each other, although Esther doesn't want to admit it.  Set WAY before the show began.  One shot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own _The Waltons_, and I wouldn't want to. Too much work. I'm not making money by posting this fanfiction story, even though I'd like to.**

**A/N: Originally written in August of 2008, back when I was into _The Waltons_ (only a distant memory now...). Remember when John-Boy's grandma said something about how a boy kissed her, and she thought she was going to have a baby? This story explores that. (Lester Richards is actually a character from the show, by the way.) One thing I changed about the story: I made it so that Zeb knew about the fact that Esther got kissed. In the show, Zeb never found out. I can't remember which episode Grandma said that in, so if you know, please let me know. And please review, too!**

**The long horizontal line between paragraphs of text represents change in point of view.**

**Young Love**

Seventeen-year-old Zebulun Walton was making jokes, as usual. As the school bell rang, the boys around him burst into laughter. Zeb kept them laughing as they all headed into the building, but he dropped back courteously to hold the door open for Cordelia. As she passed him, he took her hand and kissed it like an English gentleman, causing her to titter coyly. Esther Sorenson watched with narrowed eyes as she walked primly toward the door. Everyone at school was aware that Esther and Zebulun were sweethearts, but if Zeb wasn't careful, he was going to turn that uncontested fact into just another idle rumor. As she crossed the threshold he grinned at her, but she refused to meet his eye. Sooner or later, Zebulun would have to learn that she was not about to associate with a boy who sweet-talked nearly all the girls in school on a regular basis.

"Class, please rise to say the Pledge of Allegiance," Miss Austin said. Esther took her place beside her desk and recited the patriotic words with admirable dignity, considering the fact that her classmates were casting sly looks between her and her so-called sweetheart.

School proceeded in the normal way. After leading the class in prayer, Miss Austin called up the youngest students for a spelling lesson. Esther studied quietly until her class—the students close to graduation—was summoned to the front of the room to prove their scholastic competence. She passed with flying colors, all the time attempting to avoid Zeb, though doing so proved difficult: he was standing right next to her.

Then came lunch, and recess—where Zeb tried to engage her in conversation and she pretended to be immersed in study, holding the history book in front of her face. Finally seeming to realize that he was being given the cold shoulder, he walked away. Esther watched him leave from under her book. Maybe now he would see sense for a change.

Her satisfaction dissolved, however, when Lester Richards sat down next to her.

"Hi, Esther," he said, seemingly oblivious of the fact that he was invading her personal space.

"Hello, Lester," she managed to say guardedly. Lester was a known bully around the school; she couldn't imagine what he was doing sitting next to her with such infuriating casualness.

"I was just talkin' to my buddies," he continued, "and word on the street is that you and Zeb are through. That true?"

"I-I—we were never . . ." Esther stammered, unable to collect her thoughts. Lester was making her nervous, with his sitting much too close to her and the glint in his eye that was not quite friendly.

He began talking again. "Zeb thinks he's so great, 'cause he's got the prettiest girl in school fer himself. But I told my buddies I could have you if I wanted, an' they didn't believe me. So they dared me to kiss you."

Esther was now frozen to the spot, her face beet-red. Lester leaned over and kissed her right on the mouth. Shocked and horrified, she pulled away, dreading to be seen in such a sin. Lester stood up as if nothing had happened, flashed her a smug smile, and said,

"See you around, Esther."

He left a terror-stricken girl behind him. She looked wildly around to see if there had been witnesses, and felt a moment of relief-no one seemed to have noticed the deed. Then her thoughts leapt like a horse struck with a whip, and took off at a gallop. Kissing—kissing meant that you were going to have a baby, she was sure of it. Her stomach clenched in fear: what would her mother and father say? The thought of their shocked faces, their utter disappointment in their daughter, was unbearable—and surely the church would disown her for such a terrible transgression. What would Charlottesville think of a sixteen-year-old girl—unmarried, and with a baby? Could God forgive her for something so despicable?

The bell rang, and she re-entered the school building, trying her best to act normally. The rest of the day passed in a haze. She couldn't concentrate on the lesson; fortunately, her class wasn't called up again. When school was finally over, she gathered her books and set out for home, her body tight with fear. However, she had barely cleared the schoolyard before Zeb fell into step with her. She sped up, but he refused to leave her side.

"Go away! I don't want to talk to you, Zebulun Walton!" she cried angrily, breaking into a run. He kept pace with her easily, his long legs covering twice the ground that she could in a dress.

"Not till you hear what I have to say, Esther Sorenson," he answered. She wouldn't slow down—it felt good to run, to let her churning adrenaline fuel her like coal in a steam engine. Shaking Zeb off was out of the question, but she hadn't really expected to anyway. When a couple of minutes had passed and she could run no farther, she came to a halt in a little meadow and turned to face him, panting. Let him say what he had to say—it would do no good. She wasn't going to listen.

* * *

><p>Zeb doubted whether Esther was going to listen to him, but he was determined to make her see reason. Without bothering about introductions or small talk, he asked the question that had been on his mind all day.<p>

"Why've you been avoiding me?"

Esther was glaring at him, as though infuriated that he would dare ask such a question. Her voice tight, she answered his question with another.

"Why do you think?"

He was completely at a loss. One moment, he'd been in her good books; the next, she was disgusted with him. He waited silently for her to elaborate, having no idea what was going on.

"You sweet-talk every girl you meet, Zebulun Walton!" she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him. "And don't try to deny it!"

"_Sweet-talk_?" he repeated disbelievingly. "What are you talking about?"

"I've seen you. Every new girl, it's the same: 'Hel_-lo_, miss, how do you do? My, aren't you looking _charming_ today!'"

"But I'm just being polite," Zeb pointed out helplessly; couldn't she see that?

"_Polite_? Is that why you kissed Cordelia's hand today, to be _polite_?"

Now the situation seemed clearer: she was jealous, was that it? He considered his reply carefully, and finally settled on the truth. "I was just fooling around."

"Well, you can fool around all you want, but I won't be around to watch it," she said coldly. "I'm through with you, Zebulun Walton. I'm tired of watching you look at the other girls, remarking on how pretty they are. You can have any one of them you want, just pick one. But I refuse to be one of the candies you choose from—that's all girls are to you, isn't it?"

Zeb stared, utterly nonplused, as she turned away. He wasn't going to let her leave, not like this. With sudden, daring audacity, he grabbed her hand.

"How dare you! Let go of me!" She pulled vainly as he held on to her.

"Just let me say one more thing," he implored. She gave a sudden jerk, wrenching herself free, but he began talking before she could take her leave.

"I don't think of girls as candies—not at all! You don't understand, I'm just—"

"Flirting with them?" she finished spitefully.

"No! It's just—just the way I am. I'm just a big . . .oaf," he settled on one of the words he'd learned in spelling. "I'm not trying to sweet-talk any of them, I'm just being nice, or I thought I was—" He broke off; his explanation seemed to be making her even madder. As she started to turn away again, he finished desperately,

"_You're_ the one I'm sweet on! You're the most beautiful girl I've ever known."

"Empty flattery will get you nowhere," she shot back.

"But you're beautiful on the _inside_, too. You're smart and kind and good; you always do the right thing. You don't talk all the time like the other girls, but when you _do_ say something, it's always the perfect thing to say. That's what I like about you." He stared into her eyes, his voice solemn as he declared, "I love you, Esther, and I want to marry you someday, if you'll have me."

Suddenly she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms, sobbing. Had he said something wrong? Putting his arms around her, he stroked her long, silky hair uncertainly. Maybe this was just another strange behavior pattern in girls.

"I-I think I'd like to marry you, too," she admitted, still weeping, "b-b-but I can't—I'm g-going to have a baby!"

Zeb's eyes bulged at this staggering piece of news. He was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say. But this was Esther Sorenson. _Esther Sorenson_. She would never do something like this of her own accord. He chose his next sentence carefully.

"Why do you say that?"

"B-Because," she wailed, her face buried against his chest, "Lester Richards _kissed_ me, and now I'm going to have a baby!"

"You think you're going to have a baby because he kissed you?" Zeb repeated, beginning to understand.

"Yes," she confirmed, with a slight moan. Smothering the impulse to laugh out loud at her endearing innocence, he spoke calmly.

"Esther, listen to me. You're not going to have a baby."

She looked up at him with a wild hope agleam in her eyes. "Really?"

"Really."

"Are you sure?" she asked insistently, still doubtful, still fearful. "How do you know?"

"I'm sure." There was a moment's pause while she wavered, unsure what to believe. Then, seeming convinced by his confidence, she sagged against him in relief before pulling herself away. As he offered her his handkerchief, he said fiercely,

"I'll teach that Lester a lesson for you. I'll give him two black eyes if you want me to."

She smiled, drying her eyes with slight chagrin. "Please don't. I'd rather just forget about it, if you don't mind."

He walked with her the rest of the way to her house, even managing to hold her hand for part of the way. When they reached her front porch, she asked curiously,

"If a man and a woman don't kiss to have a baby, then what _do_ they do?"

He blushed before saying hastily, "You'll have to ask your mama about that one."

*The End*


End file.
